


Brother, I Say Goodbye Now

by DevynWinchester1983



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Character Death, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-03
Updated: 2014-06-03
Packaged: 2018-02-03 08:07:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1737416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DevynWinchester1983/pseuds/DevynWinchester1983
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What would happen when the Winchesters meet their untimely demise? Who would it hurt? Here, we take a look into what could happen in the Supernatural Series Finale. </p><p>*This is my story though I do not own the show.*</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brother, I Say Goodbye Now

Death. That was one word the Winchesters knew all too well. To be honest, they feared it. They knew their death would come sooner than most. They knew they would never live to be old, or live the apple pie lives they always wanted to have. They just didn't know when it was going to happen.

That time was now.

/*/

It was almost Christmas time. Sam and Dean Winchester couldn't be farther apart. Tension was high and arguments were easily fueled with mean words and comments. But they stayed by each other, no matter what. Why? They were brothers. Through thick and thin, they always would be. They were blood.

Just one year ago, Sam had finally found a life. He had a girlfriend, a house, even a dog. Dean was happy for him, though he was devastated at the same time. He would be alone. He wouldn't have his brother by his side. Cas was always there for him. He was Dean's shoulder to cry on, and hunting partner at times. Though for the most part, he was off fighting some wars in heaven. Dean rarely got any calls from those he loved. Jody, Garth, even Crowley seemed to be ignoring him, and Sam too. Dean had started to be broken and lost. He felt torn apart, and if he was here now, he'd tell you that.

It didn't take long for Sam's world to turn to hell either. Just 4 months into his new peaceful life, Sam's girlfriend was killed, and their house burnt down. Garth, surprisingly enough was the cause. A few days before the accident, Sam had led a few hunters in Garth's direction, considering Garth was a werewolf now. Of course Sam didn't really mean too, they were friends after all. But Garth didn't see it that way. He took revenge right where he knew it would hurt Sam most. Sam was already scarred enough, but now, he was just plain depressed.

After the accident, Sam called Dean. Dean was there for him right when he needed to be. But Sam didn't seem to be there for Dean when he needed it. It was like the scale wasn't balanced. They both needed each other, but instead they chose to argue. They chose anger instead of blood. And they seemed like enemies.

This case required teamwork. Teamwork that Sam and Dean just didn't have anymore. Which was probably why they were stuck where they were at.

"I'm telling you Sam, this thing is a Vetala. It has all the signs!" Dean scowled at his brother.

Sam shook his head, obviously irritated. "Since when did you see a victim of a Vetala not sucked dry? It's a Djinn, obviously." He sent an evil glare at Dean, as his brother laughed bitterly, and dug his nose into the book once more.

Both of them were wrong. The people that died, died due to poison in their systems. The victims deteriorated fast and didn't have any loss of blood, which proved that both the Djinn and Vetala theory were out. The Winchesters were just too busy arguing to realize that.

/*/

"A witch? Oh come on! You can't get that low!" Dean spat out at the woman in front of both him and Sam, a silver knife in hand. He was prepared for the Vetala that he was sure was killing these people.

Sam's knife was dripping blood; lambs blood. He was still certain it was a Djinn.

But, if they could look past their disputes and hot heads, they could still kill the witch with what they had. Unfortunately, they didn't.

"Well you were so hung up on your Vetala theory, that maybe we could've figured that out." Sam turned to Dean. His teeth pressed hardly against each other, as he grinded them. The witch watched curiously with a smirk on her face. She was hoping she could slip away, but by the looks of it, she could get a few hunters off her tail as well.

"Me? Well you're fricken idiot. You usually know these things Sammy!" Dean's nose was scrunched as his voice grew louder.

Sam laughed. "You're kidding? I'm the idiot? Well I don't spend my days drinking away the research after I read it."

"Oh really, that's what you think? That I just drink away my problems, like I'm some sort of alcoholic?"

"Don't you dare deny that! You know you are! You're worse than..." Dean cut his brother off.

"Worse than who?"

"Worse than... Worse than Dad..." It seemed hard for Sam to say it. No matter what, he knew never to bring up their father.

Dean face grew red as he opened his mouth to say something. But nothing came out.

"Boys, boys, boys. I didn't realize the Winchesters were going through their own family problems. What's the matter with you two?" The girl that the boys had completely forgot finally spoke, and tapped her chin. Sam attempted to say something, but instead he seemed to choke. "Oh yeah, almost forgot I did that."

Dean threw his knife towards the witch's head, but she just held up her hand, making it fall midway to her face. "Winchesters..." She rolled her eyes. "And here I was thinking you guys were all high and mighty." She tsk'd as she looked down at her hands, shaking her head at how disgusting her cuticles looked. "You two aware of what I've been doing here?" She looked up, a menacing look on her face. "I'm killing people. Brutally too. And I can easily put you both through that same pain. The incurable disease. No angel, no demon, no deal, nothing can fix it. Just... Death." She knew the way to break them was through each other, no matter what was going on between them. And to make them break was to make the older watch the younger suffer. She looked bitterly at Sam and huffed. "Such good looking men..." She held up her hand and snapped her fingers.

It was weird feeling, though Sam wasn't sure what the feeling was. It didn't hurt, even a little. It made him feel a little woozy. He wobbled on his feet a little before looking towards his brother. He was surprised to see concern and sadness cover his entire face.

Quickly Dean sent the witch an angry glare, as if asking her what she did to him.

"Poison. The same poison that killed all those people." She snapped her fingers again and Dean was overcome with the same feeling.

Through the wooziness, Dean managed to stay stable. He looked at his brother, who still had the knife dipped in lamb's blood in his hand. He nodded to his brother, as he took a few steps forward toward the witch.

"Well I guess you are strong. Usually they collapse by now."

Sam stepped closer, slipping the knife into Dean's hand behind him. Just like that Dean pushed the knife against her throat.

The witch laughed. "Do as you please, but my death won't cure you. I promise you that." Dean tilted his head to look at Sam slightly. Sam huffed and nodded. The witch noticed Sam's nod and leaned forward to whisper into Dean's ear. "12 hours." Quickly, he pushed the knife deeper and slit her throat.

To their advantage, their voices came back. But they knew what wasn't stopped by her death. Their death.

/*/

_**I hour** _

"Sam..." Dean said, his voice strained. They were in a small room; almost claustrophobic to Dean. After they cleaned up their mess, they hid. They knew there was nothing to stop their death, and they didn't want to put anyone through the pain of watching them die. So they left, without a goodbye to Cas, Jody, Charlie, Crowley, even Garth. Though the thought had crossed Sam's mind.

Sam looked up at his brother and nodded. "I know..."

Dean's head tilted in confusion. "Know what?"

"That you're sorry... That you didn't mean for any of this to happen..." He looked back down to stare at the tile he had stared at for the past few minutes.

Dean shook his head. "I was gonna say that I think we left the oven on back at the bunker, but alright." Dean always felt like it was his job to cheer his brother up; even in the most desperate times.

Sam huffed a small, very quiet laugh and wiped away a tear that had rolled down his cheek, before Dean could see it. "I didn't think it would happen like this. When we were at our toughest."

"We don't need to talk about it Sammy. We can avoid the topic completely." He stood up and walked over to his brother, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't want to die yet Dean. Not like this."

"I know... Neither of us do, little brother." Sam looked up at him, his eyes wet with tears. Quickly, Dean engulfed him in a hug. Probably one of the last hugs they would ever share together.

/*/

"What do you mean their missing? Like Amber Alert missing, or did they run off?" Charlie spoke to Cas. Castiel panicked when he couldn't find the brothers, so he told everyone he knew would possibly help. He gathered them together like one giant meeting.

"They're just gone..." Cas replied sadly.

"Those boys just don't go missing. Maybe they're hiding from something'." Jody bit her lip at the thought. What was so terrifying that even the Winchesters were hiding from?

"Eh, unfortunately they aren't that easy to get rid of. If something was that scary, those two would tell us. Well I would definitely count Moose on it." Crowley grunted. That was definitely something he counted on. If the Winchesters ever saw something that bad, they'd call.

"Well maybe something got em' and..." It was like all of the people in the group spun around and shot Garth an evil glare. Ever since the incident with Sam, he had felt terrible, though he had a lot of anger toward him at the time of the accident. That was the thing though. Werewolves couldn't exactly hold back their anger. But now, the guilt on his shoulders hurt badly. He didn't want to be the one to bring up the obvious factor here. They were dead. Or at least that's what everyone was thinking at the time.

"Don't you dare..." Charlie raised a finger and pointed it at Garth. Castiel took her from her paradise in Oz to tell her the news. It wasn't something someone should come back to. "They are good men. They don't deserve that."

"We have to think of all possibilities." Garth tried to defend himself, but now, he just made everyone in the room really ticked.

But Jody seemed to come to the rescue. "Alright, alright. He's got a point. We need to weigh things so we can prepare. They might night be dead yet, but they could almost be. If that's the case, then we need to figure this out. Cas, did you check the last place they were at? A motel maybe?"

Cas stood up straight. "The bunker..."

"The what?" Jody and Garth said in unison. Crowley rolled his eyes, remembering the days and hours he was locked there.

"The bunker is hidden. Not many people went to see this place. It's huge." Charlie noted through clenched teeth. She was still nervous and angry.

"Right. It's a hidden loft for the men of letters. It's full of lore books and stories." Charlie punched Cas in the arm for exposing too much information. "Why did you..."

Charlie waved her hand to cut him off. "There would be something there. Without a doubt."

They all seemed to nod in unison as they headed off to the hidden and warded bunker.

/*/

**_4 hours_ **

It was the longest 4 hours of their lives, and they didn't know if they could make it through the next 8 hours without dying of boredom. Sam and Dean didn't talk much. What was there to say? They were going to die, so what would be so great that they needed to share?

"Hey, Sammy... Remember that time Dad caught me smoking my first ever cigarette?" Dean cut the silence. A few memories were weighing heavily on his mind, and he had to share them.

Sam looked up at his brother, curiosity and confusion planted on his face. But he did remember and it brought a smile to grow on his plump and pink lips. "I do remember. I walked in on the worst thing possible." He whistled softly. "Dad was pissed."

Dean laughed. "And then there was you. My little hero. Jumping in and defending me."

Sam shrugged. "Yeah, well you're just lucky I came up with the idea that fast. If he didn't believe the fact that you were just trying to protect me, we both would've been screwed."

"I still don't see how smoking protects family." Dean looked up at his brother, a smirk planted on his face.

Sam huffed a small laugh and shook his head. "And I still don't see how you think Batman is better than Superman!"

"Hey, you didn't think that when you tried to jump off that couch with a Batman cape."

"That was before I knew he couldn't fly."

"Hey, but he can glide."

"Glide?" Sam choked out the word as he tried to hold back his laughter.

"Yes... And it makes him pretty badass for it too." With those words, Sam finally let himself laugh. "Yeah, yeah. Well at least some stone isn't Batman's weakness."

"Kryptonite," Sam said between laughs, "isn't exactly a stone, Dean."

Dean frowned and nodded in agreement. There was a fridge in the room so Dean pulled out 2 beers, handing one to Sam. "You think they're looking for us?" Dean asked, after Sam finally stopped laughing.

"Who? Cas?"

"Yeah... I mean like... Everyone."

"We don't exactly have a lot of people to be looking for us."

"I know that. But those that would, do you think they are?"

Sam shrugged. "It's possible." He took a sip of his beer. "But then again, we screwed them over more times than they can count. So probably not."

"Even Garth?"

Sam looked up at his brother and sighed. "Even Garth." Saying the name was hard for Sam to do. Just that name reminded him of the life he used to have, and the time he nearly killed one of their closest friends.

"You know we can't get out of this right? There's no getting out." Dean bit his lip. His once bright green eyes seemed dark and glassy. He was already giving up.

And so was Sam. He just nodded in return. Dean took a swig of his beer and quietly hummed 'Hey Jude' to himself. It reminded him of his mother, when she used to sing it to him when he was down. Right now, that was all he had.

/*/

**_7 hours_ **

The bunker was a lot bigger than it probably should've been. They spent most of their time here, digging and searching for whatever would help find them. They couldn't find anything. Cas was starting to give up, and it seemed as if everyone else was too.

"Cas!" Charlie yelled from the room next to him. He practically ran into the room and noticed Charlie reaching for something on top of the bookshelf. "Do you see that?" She pointed to what looked like a white, folded piece of paper on top of the shelf. "Sam must've put it up there... Here, get on my shoulders." She bent down a little to help him up.

"You... Uh..."

"Cas, come on! For Dean!"

Castiel seemed to straighten and become less irritable. 'For Dean,' he thought and climbed on top of Charlie.

"Geeze, you weigh heavier than you look." She lifted him up to the top of the bookshelf where Cas reached for the piece of paper.

"Got it." Slowly Charlie placed him down on the ground.

"What's it say?"

Castiel opened the paper slowly and carefully. It was Dean's handwriting and it made him smile. So he read.

 

 

_Cas,_

_Hopefully it's you reading this and not someone else, cause then I'll just sound like an idiot. Anyways, well... Dammit I'm no good at these things. Look Cas, if you're reading this, it's probably too late. I'm dead. I know, I know, it's a tragedy. But I'll explain. Sammy and I met this witch. It was a case and I guess it just didn't work out. She poisoned us, and gave us some incurable disease. Not even you could fix it pal... When Sammy and I found out, we didn't exactly know how to say goodbye, or that we even wanted to. So we ran. That makes us sound like huge dicks, but it's the truth. We had 12 hours left. We were going to die in 12 hours, Cas. What were we supposed to do? I figured I'd leave you this to say goodbye, rather than leave you searching. Be careful out there. Don't do anything I wouldn't._

_~Dean Winchester_

_P.S. Remember that shack in Illinois._

_You know that one where you saved my_

_ass for the very first time? Ha. Good times._

 

 

When Castiel read the letter, he was filled with so many emotions, he just couldn't handle it. He was happy to know that Dean spent the few hours he had left, writing to him. He felt sad to learn that the person he cared about most, was dead, or soon would be. The hatred he felt towards the witch who did this was overpowering, as was the disbelief. Yet his mind seemed to move in gears as he thought.

Cas' hands started to tremble and he dropped the paper. He watched as the paper slowly flowed down to the floor in uneven patterns. Charlie craned her neck to look Cas in the eye. After a while she bent down to pick up the paper and read the note. At this point, everyone was in the room; Sam's room oddly enough.

"This can't be true. No..." Charlie looked up after she finished reading, her eyes wet with tears. Cas nodded slowly in response. Her hand met her face to hold back the sobs that now took over. Jody quickly took the paper from her hand and read aloud. When she finished, Jody looked up at the people around her. Garth's face was full of pain and regret, and Crowley looked confused and quite shocked. Charlie was in tears, and Cas just stood there like a lost puppy. She felt the need to do the same as everyone else. Cry away her feelings, stare off in confusion or hurt. But if everyone was like this, then she needed to be the one to push everyone forward. She needed to put on her mom voice, and be the mother she always was, even for grown adults.

After a while of hearing nothing but Charlie's cries, Jody finally spoke. "Cas, do you know anyone else that should know?" Cas didn't answer. "Cas?" He just shrugged. "Look guys... We need to snap out of this. Those boys would want us to be strong, alright? We need to be strong. For them." Jody quickly wiped a tear that had trailed down her cheek, away.

"She's right. We've managed to survive without them. I'm the King of Hell for God's sake. I can run it without them around." He spoke the last words to himself, like he was reassuring only him.

They cleaned up the bunker a little, for an hour or so. They found pictures, and memories that made them all laugh, and sometimes cry.

Cas just sat on Dean’s bed, reading the note, over and over, his mind processing every word. What his mind focused on, was the P.S. note. After reading it for about the 11th time, he had an idea. He ran out to where everyone was sitting in the library.

"We need to find them." He spoke, his breathes slightly uneven.

"Cas, they're..." Jody tried to explain, but Cas cut her off.

"They need a proper goodbye. They deserve that. So we need to find them."

Charlie gasped. "The impala!" They all turned to look at her, as if the idea of that car sitting alone and rusting was a terrible thought. It was. That car had too many memories to deserve that.

"Alright, alright. Where do we plan on looking?" Jody asked, turning back to Cas.

"The Post Script. I think Dean was leaving a clue. He wanted us to find him." Cas spoke, his voice determined, and hopeful. "Dean wants to say goodbye one last time."

He was right. When Sam told Dean that leaving a note would only hurt them more, Dean had felt discouraged. He wanted to say goodbye, unlike Sam. He wanted to say goodbye to his best friend. He didn't want to be alone. Dean wanted Baby to go to someone special, and not into one of those junkyards. But most of all he just wanted to say goodbye. And he knew Cas would remember that shack, so he wrote it down. He didn't tell Cas completely what he wanted, because if Sam did find it, then he wouldn't know. It was just his way of thinking. He would risk everything for that last goodbye.

/*/

**_10 hours_ **

Dean checked his watch for about the hundredth time. He found himself doing that a lot now. It wasn't really about how much time they had left, but more how long Cas was taking. He hoped Cas would find the note in time. He hoped he understood it.

His stomach growled at him and he looked down. "Should've eaten first."

Sam looked up at him. He looked horrible. Dean wondered if he looked the same. Sam's face looked pale and empty. His once broad shoulders were thin, and his usual bright pink lips, looked almost blue. He shrugged, though it looked very painful to do.

Truth was, Dean was feeling it too. It felt like his organs were shutting down. His head ached and his arms felt sore. He literally felt like he was dying. Well, he was.

He checked his watch again. 2 hours. They had 2 hours left.

"Sam..." Dean's voice seemed to crack and was very groggy, like he was tired.

Sam sighed, though it hurt to take in deep breaths. "Yeah?"

"You know I'm not one for chick-flick moments, right?"

"I know."

"You think we could break that, just this once?"

Sam was a little shocked, heartbroken even. He knew saying that took a lot for Dean to say. It was always Dean's job to be strong in front of him, and he was breaking now. He watched Dean wipe away a few escaped tears and walked over to him. "Just this once." He wrapped his arm around his brother and pulled him into a weak hug. They each felt so boney.

Dean's breaths were shaky and uneven. "I'm so sorry. For all those fights. For everything I said to you. You didn't deserve that."

"You didn't either Dean. And it's because you and I couldn't see that, is why we are where we are at now. And I'm sorry for that too."

Dean nodded and pulled away from their hug. "You think we're Hell bound?"

Sam shook his head. "I would've thought that a long time ago, but now... I don't know. I like to think we're going upstairs, you know. Hope is all I've got."

He nodded, though he didn't have much hope in his system. "I promise I'll make sure we do go up, not down." At this point, Dean just wanted something to believe in, and fight for. He would try his hardest to keep this promise. Even if he only had 2 hours to do it.

"How?"

Dean was about to open his mouth to answer, just as a frantic banging sound was heard on the other side of the door. Slowly, Dean walked over to the door. There were faint whispers heard on the other side. "The hell?" Then more banging. Dean opened it slowly and was instantly plowed into a strong hug. 'Too much hugging' he thought. He looked down at the red head of hair that now hugged him, and smiled. It was Charlie. When he looked up, he was surprised to see that she wasn't the only one.

"Dean." Cas spoke the first words out of the group.

"You read it." He didn't even need to ask. He already knew he did.

"Why wouldn't I?"

Charlie pulled away from Dean and ran to Sam, hugging him too.

"Hey." He grunted. Honestly, he felt relieved, just as much as Dean did. It was good to see another face.

"Hate to say it, but I've never been so happy to see you boys." Crowley admitted, stepping into the room.

"What are you doing here Crowley?" Dean was a little surprised. Though, granted he and Crowley were on closer terms than they ever were.

"Looking for you obviously squirrel. Unfortunately, you and Moose left a mark on my heart."

"How sweet." Sam mocked, though a smile was planted on his face, his arm still wrapped around Charlie.

"Well you two look absolutely horrible." Jody smiled as she took her spot next to Crowley in the room. Charlie let go of Sam and backed up a little, liked he had a contagious disease.

"You're here too?" Dean said, his voice full of relief. It was one thing to have Cas here, just as he had wished, but now he basically had the whole gang.

"Of course I'm here. You boys are like my kids." She took a few steps closer and hugged Dean. Then she went over to Sam, hugging him as well. "We were worried."

Dean scratched the back of his neck. "Worry probably doesn't even cover what we felt." He sighed and checked his watch. 1 hour. "Look. It was nice seeing you guys but..." Dean's voice seemed to tremble.

"Dean, we know." Charlie practically gasped out. "Cas wasn't the only one to read that letter."

Sam tapped his foot. "I wondered how they found us..." He squinted his eyes at his brother. If it was even possible he looked even weaker. As the minutes counted down, they deteriorated. They were dying, and showing it too. Dean shrugged.

"There has to be a way Dean..." Cas sighed, anxiety in his voice. "There has to be."

Dean shook his head. "There isn't. We looked a little, but not long. Don't exactly want to raise false," he grunted, "hope."

"There will always be hope."

"Not now..."

It was quiet for a minute, but the one person who hadn't spoke before, finally did now. "Sam..." Garth said quietly. Sam turned his head to look at Garth. No matter what, they were friends, and to see Garth look like that, full of regret and pain... Well it burned something in Sam's heart. "I'm so, so sorry. I... I thought I would never be able to say that." Sam walked over to him weakly, hugging him and shook his head.

"Garth... I don't hate you. I'm not mad. There's a reason you did it, and the reason makes sense. You couldn't exactly control it." He pulled away from the hug and smiled, though it seemed so distant. His hands were on Garth's shoulders for balance. "Besides, now isn't the time to hold a grudge." Garth smiled back at him.

"How much longer?" Jody asked, breaking the silence in the room. "How much longer until..."

"An hour. Probably less." Dean noted looking down at his watch once again. He moved to grab his beer on the table, and nearly fell, before Cas caught him. It was starting to become much harder to walk with his weak and bow-legged knees. Sam was obviously having a hard time standing too. His once tall figure now slouched, in attempts to stand up straight. Cas pulled him over to a chair. "You should sit."

"Dammit Cas, I'm not spending my last moments sitting in a fricken chair." Dean sat down unwillingly. Garth pulled a chair over for Sam to sit down in too.

"Dean, don't talk like that. We'll fix something, there has to be away." Charlie begged. She didn't want to give up this easily.

"No. There isn't a way. And I think we finally have gotten used to that idea now." Sam admitted. His voice seemed far and distant. Like he was lost in his own mind.

"Since when do the Winchesters ever lose hope?" Crowley claimed, putting his hands on his hips.

"When there isn't any more hope to have." Dean looked at his now trembling hands. His hands more bones than skin. "There's no way out, and you guys need to..." He started coughing. "You need to face that." Cas rubbed his back softly, the way he learned was a thing of comfort. Dean sent him a small smile. Sam ran a hand through his hair. When he put his hand down, he noticed some hair in his hand. It was grayer than it was brown. Dean's bright green eyes were now dull and very faint, almost glassy. Sam's was the same, though now his eye color was grey. Now there was always a few minutes; 30 tops. And they knew their time was running out.

"Dean." Cas was the one to break the long and odd silence. He dug into the pocket of his trench coat. "A few years ago, I needed this." He pulled something out, but kept his hand closed over it. "I never thought it was useful, since its power never worked, until now. It's a symbol of family. Of, love." He opened his hand and Dean was immediately greeted with one of the things he had missed so dearly. He was greeted with the thing that meant the world to him. It was the amulet that his little brother had given at Christmas when they were kids. "You should have it now."

"Cas..." Dean's voice seemed to crack. "How did you..."

"I remembered you throwing it away, and how hurt Sam had looked." They looked over at Sam, who seemed to straighten up more proudly to see the amulet. "I couldn't leave it there, so I took it. Waiting for the right time to give it back to you." He pushed out his hand towards Dean.

"It's no good to me now Cas. I mean, it means a lot to have it back. But now... I don't have long and I don't want it to rot with my body." He smiled. "You keep it. Please."

"I... I can't." Dean shook his head, and held out his shaky hand. Cas dropped the amulet in his hand. Quickly, so Castiel couldn't push him away, he pulled it over Cas' head and around his neck. "I want you to have it." Cas wiped away a tear that had managed to fall. It was rare to see the great Angel of The Lord to cry. It brought tears to Dean's eyes.

"Charlie?" Dean asked, turning to look at her. "You've got a license right?" She nodded. "And you can drive safely?" She nodded again. "Then I want you to do me a favor." He dug into his pocket, as a small rattle sound was heard. He pulled out some keys. "I want you to take her."

"No... Dean... I-I can't." Charlie's tears were unstoppable now.

"So you're just gonna let her rust up? I trust you. And besides, you're the only one here who knows a good car when she sees one." She sniffed and walked over to him, taking the keys softly. "Scratch her up, and I'll haunt your ass." He tried to laugh but instead grew into a coughing fit. "I-I don't think I have any more to give."

"Dean Winchester," Jody put on her mom voice. "You've already given so much. You both have."

"Well..." Crowley coughed rather dramatically, while everyone shot him a death glare. "I'm joking god. You people have no funny bone in your body I swear. You boys really have given enough though. You've made me realize..."

"You're not gonna start crying on me are you?" Dean cut him off. Minutes before his death, and he still wasn't one for chick flicks.

Suddenly, a rather loud and annoying coughing noise was heard from the corner. Everyone was focused on Dean, that they hadn't seen how pale Sam had grown.

As soon as he heard the coughing, the realization dawned on Dean. Sam was cursed first. He would die first. "Sammy." His voice cracked. He would have rather gone first. Not have to see his brother go through that. But that was selfish. He looked at his watch. Dean had maybe 15 minutes left. Sam had less.

Everyone rushed over to Sam. Dean would've if he could. Cas stayed with him, his hand on his shoulder to keep Dean from jumping to his feet and hurting himself.

"Sam, hey. You alright there." Garth asked, patting his back. The patting only made Sam wince.

The pain was brutal. The weakness made him feel sick. He was dying, and he could feel it. Sam just shook his head.

"Guys," Jody's voice cracked, "we need to leave them."

"Whoa! Wait a minute!" Charlie protested turning around to face Jody.

"We can't just leave them!" Garth defended her.

She opened her mouth, but she wasn't the one to speak. "They're dying, and we can't stop it. The least we could do is give them their alone time to say goodbye." Cas spoke, his voice straight and almost monotone. His gaze never left Dean's.

They all seemed to listen to Cas.

They had only a few minutes to leave, to give the Winchesters alone time still. Quickly they hugged them 'bye' all of them managing to keep from tears. They were silent for the most part, besides Sam's frantic coughing. It only took them a few to say goodbye, they wanted to hurry. They knew that through it all it would always be them. The Winchesters; together.

When they were alone, they were silent. Even Sam's coughing had stopped. Dean checked his watch once more, and spoke his thoughts out loud. "Less than 10 minutes now."

"Dean." Sam's voice was raspy and dry. It was almost impossible to hear him, and broke Dean's heart.

"Yeah Sammy?"

"I don't want to die." That's where Dean's heart completely shattered.

"But we can't stop it. You know that. Sammy, you know I would try if I could." Dean's voice was dry now. His turn was coming up here soon.

"I know Dean, I just..." The coughing started again. He put his hand to cover his mouth. When he pulled away he noticed blood, coating a spot in his hand. "Dean..."

Dean looked over at him and frowned. He attempted to scoot his chair over to him. He was close now, close enough to take his hand and see the blood. "Sam, hey, hey. It’s ok, alright." He put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "I'm here, it's all that matter. You and me right?"

Sam nodded, shifting in his seat uncomfortably. 7 minutes left. "Dean I-I-I'm sorry."

"Sorry? Sorry for what? What could you possibly be sorry for Sam?" Dean's head tilted to the side, as both curiosity and heartbreak coated the words that came out.

"For all the times I let you down. For everything that I've done to you. For our arguments and all the times I wasn't there when you needed me to be. For always..."

"Whoa, Sammy stop. Stop it, now! Don't be sorry. There's nothing for you to be sorry about. I've screwed up too. So many times I've felt like I put you down. So don't think you're the only who feels like they need to apologize. But I'm not spending the mere minutes I have left saying I'm sorry. I'm gonna sit here, with the one person I know has been there for me through thick and thin, and let nature do its course. Whether it's unnatural or not. But in the end, it will be us, ok? That's how it starts, that's how it will end, right Sammy?" His voice cracked, and at the last words, a few tears had streamed down from his face. Not just because he was dying, or that he probably wouldn't see the people he loved and cared for again. It was because he could see his brother slowly fade into a place he was unsure of. Sam had minutes, seconds. And he was leaving him. Right now.

Sam just nodded, slowly. Very slowly. His eyes were drooping down now, but he was fighting. Fighting with everything he had. He would rather go out with Dean, not before or last. They should end it together, not through turns. "Thank you." He whispered.

"No thanks, little brother. We're family. Family through the end, to the end." His sentences were starting to grow choppy. Like Sam's had done before this. "Remember my promise? I promise I'll meet you up there ok? But you gotta promise me something, Sammy." Sam attempted to grip Dean's shoulder, but his grip wasn't strong. Rather frail. "Promise me you'll stop fighting? I can't see you like the way you are. I'd rather know that we both went out good, and that we both faced it."

Sam's grip loosened, but was still there.

"Quit fighting, and wait for me." It was hard to hold the tears back now, so he let them flow.

Sam closed his eyes now, his grip no longer there. But he was still warm. Dean could feel his faint pulse in the hand he held.

"Sam, don't be a dick about it. I swear you're just here to see me cry man." Dean joked, laughing slightly and quietly, wiping away the tears. He always did that. Times like these, he always tried to make his brother laugh. Through everything. Even if it wasn't funny.

Sam didn't laugh. Instead, he grew colder, and his once weak pulse seemed impossible to find. Dean couldn't find it, because it was gone.

Sam Winchester was dead.

And Dean was next.

Dean broke, crying harder than he probably ever had before. This was the end. He couldn't bring his brother back, and he couldn't fight. He knew that in the end, both Winchesters would be put down. Still, he never took Sam's hand out of his, like somehow Sam would squeeze back and just wake up. But no. He wouldn't. Not anymore.

Dean started coughing now, rather frantically. Being alone like this was hard. He almost wished Cas would come back in. But then again, he didn't want Castiel to see him like that. See him the way he saw Sam. Small, pale, and weak. That's not the way he wanted to look when he went out. Honestly, he expected it to bloody.

He held a hand to his head, as a rather painful headache screamed at him. If Sam was feeling the same pain he was feeling now, then he did a damn fine job of hiding it. His stomach growled at him. Funny how minutes from death, he was still hungry. Then he had a hard time keeping his eyes open, so he sat back in the chair and got comfortable, closing his eyes. Then a thought past his mind.

'I’m lucky'

He wasn't going out in searing pain, or covered in blood. He was going peacefully, in a chair and holding his brothers hand. Now, he looked forward to see Sam up there. He'd get to see how much he really cared for Jess, and finally get to see his mom and dad once more. He even looked forward to the earful that Bobby would probably have out for him. And he knew he'd see Cas again. Cas wouldn't dare ignore him in heaven. They'd see each other again. Dean could finally be happy.

Through the thoughts he hadn't noticed how dark it had gotten. It terrified him almost. When he was about to open his eyes, or try to at least, he saw white. A bright, white light.

/*/

**_8 years later_ **

There's a tale out there now. A tale of two brothers. The tale terrifies children, but also holds as an inspiration to them. Some find the tale to be unrealistic. Only a few people would know.

Charlie Bradbury, or at least Anna Scott, was one of them. Some say she changed her name because of her mother. Others say she changed it because she was running from the law for computer hacking. Still, she was a fun loving girl. She spent her days sitting at a library and telling little kids the story of the brothers. The Winchesters. Parents say she called it the Winchester Gospel. A few others say that too. She drives around in a 1967 Chevrolet Impala, which was supposedly the car the Winchesters drove. She even shows people the initials of the brothers, carved into the dashboard. They also say she lives in a bunker. No one knows where it is. Only a few people. Those that did know, often visited. They say she never changed the look of the bunker. Mainly because that was where the brothers lived. It left far too many memories to be destroyed.

Then there's the old lady in Sioux Falls. Her name is Jody Mills. She says that she was close to these boys. They were like her kids. She says that the boys, Sam and Dean Winchester, were close. They had their moments, but they were always there together. They fought every evil thing, stopping every mere end, together. Her assumption was blood. But even if they weren't blood, they would always seem like brothers. Jody swore on that. People called her crazy. Mainly they blame it on the loss of her family, or the many jobs she was fired from. She was also fairly old, diagnosed with Alzheimer's, so people assumed she was losing her mind.

Garth Fitzgerald was someone else who said they knew the Winchesters. He even goes on about a tale where he and Sam Winchester were best friends. Some say he brings something up about a werewolf, but for the most part, stays quiet. Garth was what he called a supernatural hunter. Says he's one of the few left. No one ever believes him of course. They say he's lost his marbles. Actually broke out of a mental institute once, right before they were ready to release him. Never did make the right choices.

Then there's this Scottish guy people see wandering around at times. He's rather large and his accent is deep. He's quiet, slick, and quite the charmer. No one knows his story, just his first name. He goes by Crowley. People say he's homeless, and his family is gone. But he still looks happy. Deceptive at times. There's a tale about him too. That he was friends with both the Winchesters, rather close to Dean Winchester. They say he used to be their enemy, looking for him like he was one of the things they went on a hunt for. No one understood why. He seemed like a nice guy. But no one ever went up to him and said hi.

But there is one person that people say is still in contact with the brothers. They say he sees them often, which just makes people think he's lost his mind. Castiel, or Cas as he asks others to call him, says he sees the brothers often. They say he's an angel. The same angel that supposedly raised Dean Winchester from perdition. There's an amulet wrapped around his neck. He never takes it off. He says it was a gift from Dean in his last moments. It was once a gift from his younger brother. Cas says the boys had saved his life in the past many times, and he's returned that favor. There are stories that he talks about. They're mostly about how these two brothers are doing in heaven.

Sam Winchester is happy, he says. He feels privileged. He finally had the opportunity to tell his mother he loved her, and tell his father he understood him. He's with Jessica, his ex-girlfriend, whom of which he lost in a fire, now. They didn't need a ring to prove their love. He's made more friends than he had on earth. He and Pamela Barns, an old and powerful psychic, are best friends. They're really close. Cas said something about Sam thinking they were alike in more ways than they knew before. But when it came down to it, Cas says that Sam is glad it happened the way it did. With his brother. And now life was finally good.

Dean Winchester was probably the happiest person in heaven history. He didn't have a girl, but he had a family. Seeing his mother again at the white gates, apparently made him realize something so much more than he had before. He now looks at his father like an inspiration, rather than his teacher that he was loyal to. Cas says Dean loves to sit back and watch Sam grow up, happy and independent. He also says that every time Cas visits, the look in Dean's green eyes got brighter, even when they never looked dark. Bobby Singer greeted him with open arms, almost being like his second father. He and Jo Harvelle are best friends. Probably closer than friends, but they would never admit that. Dean was finally happy too. His life was good.

Many people know of the Winchesters now. They were legacies that left behind a true and inspirational story. They leave behind small things, like the knife carved with Latin symbols. Or the flask Dean Winchester left behind. These are the things that made them who they were. Some people might not notice that. Others would. The smallest things were what made the Winchesters smile. What made them push so hard to be and do what they knew was right. Even if their heart told them no. These things kept them together. Kept them together as brothers. Brothers that would never ever lose a bond that was so strong. They were the Winchesters. And they would forever be known as such. The Winchesters that saved the world.

The family that ended war.

The brothers that fought through everything for each other.

And that's just how this story ends.

For good.

-Carver Edlund (Chuck Shurley)

**Author's Note:**

> A friend of mine and I came up with the general idea. I've been working on this for the past few months now and I worked really hard. I think it's one of my best pieces of writing. So I'd love to know what you think. Please leave behind some feedback. Positive or negative. It would really mean a lot.


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